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Jan 31, 2014

The Perfect Way to Hold a Hamburger, Proven by Science

We've all been there: You're holding a big ol' hamburger with both hands, you bring it to your mouth to take a bite, and the whole burger falls out all over the place. But guess what, there's an "ideal" way to hold a burger. This is it.

A while back, Japanese television show Honma Dekka!? had three researchers—experts in fluid mechanics, engineering, and dentistry—try to figure out the best way to hold and eat a large hamburger. Apparently, they spent four months researching this. For science.

The researchers did a 3D scan of a hamburger, trying to figure out how the particles interacted while holding a large hamburger. Using the data, they showed that the typical way to hold a burger—thumbs on the bottom and fingers on top—results in pushing the contents of the burger out of the buns.

As you can see, the thumbs and the pinkies are on the bottom. The middle three fingers on each hand are on the top. As you can see the burger is divided visually into equal parts.

If the burger is held uniformly, then its contents shouldn't spill out of the burger's backside.

Note that it's important not to hold the burger too tight. Doing so could cause the buns to be crushed, and the contents to spill out. Also, the dental expert recommended warming up the muscles in your mouth before eating a big hamburger by opening and closing it a few times.

One drawback: If you use the "ideal" way to hold a burger, you probably should eat your fries before or after you finish it. Otherwise, it might be difficult to hold the burger like this and eat fries at the same time. More here.